What is the origin of the name Smithsonian?
The Smithsonian Institution was established with funds from James Smithson (1765–1829), a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” On August 10, 1846, the U.S. Senate …
How did the Smithsonian get started?
After eight years of sometimes heated debate, an Act of Congress signed by President James K. Polk Aug. 10, 1846, established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian.
Who invented the Smithsonian?
James Smithson
The Institution is now 169 years old, but its true beginning happened 250 years ago with the birth of a seemingly ill-fated boy named James Smithson. Smithson (c. 1765–1829), the founding donor of the Smithsonian, was an English chemist and mineralogist.
What does the term Smithsonian mean?
a national museum and institution
(smɪθˈsəʊnɪən ) noun. a national museum and institution in Washington, DC, founded in 1846 from a bequest by James Smithson, primarily concerned with ethnology, zoology, and astrophysics.
When was Smithsonian founded?
August 10, 1846, Washington, D.C.Smithsonian Institution Offices / Founded
Who was the Smithsonian Institution named for?
James Smithson: The Man Behind the Institution While the institution named after James Smithson enjoys worldwide renown, we know little about the man who left $508,318 to the people of the United States to found such an institution.
When was the Smithsonian founded?
How old is the Smithsonian?
176Smithsonian Institution Offices / Age (c. 1846)
Who is buried in Smithsonian?
James Smithson FRS
James Smithson
| James Smithson FRS | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jacques-Louis Macie c. 1765 Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 27 June 1829 (aged 64) Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia |
| Burial place | Smithsonian Castle, Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | British |
Who controls the Smithsonian?
The Institution, established in 1846, is governed by a board of regents which, by law, is composed of the vice president of the United States, the chief justice of the United States, three members of the Senate, three members of the House of Representatives and nine citizen members.